Index-portfolio



3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Modeljx H. J. WEEKS.

INDEX PORTFOLIO.

35 INVENTOR. '1% 7AM/2:.

#(7 www Attorney Patented Mar. 29,1898.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheetsf--Sheet| V2.

H. J. WEEKS.

- INDEX PORTFOLIOI No. 601,605. Patented Mar. 29,1898.

INVENTOR W' I VESSES UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

HENRY J. WEEKS, OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA.

INDEX-PORTFOLIO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,605, dated March 29, 1898.

' Application led December 4, 1896. Serial No. 614,610. (No model.)

art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to index-portfolios especially designed for use in connection With a card system of deducing land-titles and the keeping accounts by a system of pigeonholes in said portfolio, (case or cabinet,) whereby they are alphabetically and numerically arranged for the reception of slips used in connection with a card system.

Itis extremely dificult to make an absolutely correct abstract of title from the indices in the county offices of the land-records, as not only has a vast amount of matter to be investigated before the title to a given piece of property can be abstracted, but adverse titles are frequently overlooked under the present system of name-indexing the records, which system of name-index is useful only in the case of a straight title; hence the necessity for professional abstractors compiling their own systems or indices.

My object is to provide a novel form of portfolio-index for professional searchers of record, particularly adapted for use in connection with a card system, whereby a portfolio of pigeonholes labeled to represent all the known regular subdivisions of any given county is taken to the recorders office and there used in connection with cards for making a complete abstract of all of such records. The data is condensed directly from the records onto the cards in the form of a chain of title, and the cards are then segregated into the proper pigeonholes in the portfolio, as shown by the property displayed on the card. Each evening the portfolio is locked and placed in the recorders vault until the following morning. At the end of the Week the portfolio, which is merely areceiver or feeder, is taken to the searchers ofiice and the contents Vthereof are transferred into cases of larger pigeonholes labeled identically with those in the portfolio. This process is repeated every week until a complete chain of title of all the records in any given county is obtained. Y Thus it Will be seen that the portfolio is a feeder or receiver and its chief use is in compiling a card system of abstracting land-titles.

The superiority of a card system over other systems nouT in use consists in its being cheaper, more expeditious, and more accurate from the simplicity of its processes, for it is evident that a record which is handled once only by the copyists is less liable to copyists errors than a system which duplicates its copyists Work; and it is further evident that a system which posts its data into books from its copyists slips or cards is more liable to error and more expensive than a system which posts or segregates the cards themselves. It is obvious also that a system which copies, compares, and posts at a sitting has advantages over others which are self-evident. As a separate pigeonhole under this system is given to every known subdivision of a county,

it follows that Where an instrument conveys several different subdivisions a separate card must be given to each subdivision and the book and page of the record of such instrument repeated on each, though the other data such as the names, &c., need not be repeatedas, forinstance, Book l of Deeds, page 4c, is a deed from James Brown to John Smith and conveys blocks l, 2, 3,4, and 5 of Santa-Barbara city. Now the Whole of this data Will appear on the card for block l, but the cards for the other four blocks need simply contain the book and page, the number of the block, and reference as follows: See block l, on referring to which we find the balance of the data.

Under a card system when the Whole of the records have been abstracted in card form a complete chain of title will be found to every piece of property in any given county, each in its proper pigeonhole, so that When an abstract is called for of block l, Santa Barbara city, We go to the pigeonhole labeled Block l, Santa Barbara city, in which We lind a bundle of cards of various colors, each of which cards represents a recorded instrument affecting title to said block l and shows the book and page of the: record in which said lOO vdifferent colors.

card, as a white card indicates a deed, a red card a mortgage, a blue card a suit, duc.`

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a plan view showing my improved portfolio opened out; Fig. 2, a perspective view showing the portfolio folded and ready for transportation; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the portfolio when opened, the pigeonholes in this view being omitted; Figs. 4 and 5, detail front views of sections of the portfolio, showing the arrangement of the slips and the pigeonholes in relation thereto and a portion of the general naine-index; Fig. 6, a detail view of a row of pockets or pigeonholes and their covers; Fig. 7, a sectional View taken through one of the pigeonholes and its. cover on the line 5c mof Fig. 4; Fig. 8, a detail view of one of the abstract-cards.

In the present instance I have shown the portfolio composed of six sections arranged in sets of three, the sections of one set being designated by the numerals 1, 2, and 3 and the sections of the other set by theznumerals 4, 5, and 6. gether by the fiexible connection 7, sections 2 and 3 by the connection 8, sections 4 and 5 by the hinged liap 9, and sections 5 and 6 by the flap 10. There is also abroad iexibl'e connection 11 between section 2` of one set and section 5 of the other set. The sections of each set are adapted to fold together and the two sets to fold on top of each other. The section 5 is provided with a` hasp 12, and the section 2 has a flap 13which is provided with a plate 14, having an opening 15, adapted to receive the hasp..

At16 there is shown a padlock whose hasp can be. passed through the hasp on the section, so that the whole portfolio may be locked up.. As shown in Fig. 1, the two sets of sections are held open inrectangular relation when the portfolio is being used. To accomplish thispurpose, I provide two hooks 17 and 18, which are duplicates. One of the hooks is interlocked with an eye 19, projecting from the section 6 and. has its free end adapted for engagement` with an eye 2.0'on the section 3. The other hook has its eye interlocked with an eye 21, projecting from the section 1, and the free end engages with an eye 22, projecting from the section 4.

` Each section is divided up into a number of pigeonholes or compartments, and inasmuch as the manner of dividing and also the improved covers or doors of said compartmentsv are the same throughout the'sections a description of one will suice. There is a net- Sections l and 2 are hinged to-l work of strips or walls 23,which extends across the section, these walls being arranged in sets that run at right angles to each other, thereby providing the compartments or pigeonholes 24. For each compartment or pigeonrhole there is a flap-door 25, which has one end secured by the fastening devices 26, and said door almost completely covers the pigeonholes, but leaves a small space 27, so that the tip of the iinger can be inserted to raise the door. The numeral 2S designates an elastic cord which runs through two openy ings 29 and 30 in each door of a row of the llatter, taken in one direction of the section,

said elastic cord being securely fastened to the edges of the section and the strips or walls by staples 31'. It willthus be observed that there is a tension constantly being exerted on the doors, and hence they are kept closed down on the strips,so that abstract-cards, now

i to be referred to, are properly held in the pigeonholes. In the drawings I have shown one of these abstract-cards, which is of proper size to fit easily within a pigeonhole and on it is Written the necessary data referring to that portion of land which is represented by the pigeonhole in which the given card is located, as will appear more fully later on. These cards are of different colors, according to the nature of the instrument abstracted.

Connected 'to the horizontally-extending strips of the sections 1 and 4 at the left-hand e-nd of said sections are strips 32 which are fastened by the device 33, and these strips serve asl guide. lips or flanges. Between these strips or guides there are inserted the cards 3.4, which can bear any desired designationas, for instance, Santa Barbara, meaning the 'town of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria,

Pueblo lands, Township 10, (te. It will be seen that each of these cards is intended to designate the abstract-cards held in the pigeonholes of a horizontal row running from said cards. Thus the doors of a row of pigeonholes extending from a card Santa Barbara might bear the numerals 1,. 2, 3, 4,7 5, W6, &c., meaning the blocks or squares of said town7 the pigeonhole labeled or numbered 1 containing all instruments of record affecting title to block 1, dre. The different abstract-cards referring to different `recorded instruments of blo'ck 1 would be placed in the pigeonhole whose cover is numbered l, and those referring to block 4 would be placed in the pigeonhole whose cover is numbered 4, and so on. The townships can be divided in a similar manner, so that the differenty sections of the township will be given separate pigeonholes. The pigeonholes V at the right of section 6 are lettered in alphabetical arrangement from top to bottom of said section and are headed by a card designated General name-index, said pigeonholes being used to contain names, because certain instruments'make a general conveyance of property without giving any definite dcscription-as, for instance, general assign- IOO IIO

ments of bankrnpts to assignee, general poW- ers of attorney, general assignments of interests in estates, &c.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an index-portfolio, the combination of sections hinged together and adapted to fold on each other, and each being provided with a series of pigeonholes and hinged doors for the pigeonholes.

' 2. In an index-portfolio, the combination of sections hinged together and adapted to fold against each other, each of said sections being provided With rows of pigeonholes, and independent automatically closing hinged doors for the pigeonholes.

3. In an index-portfolio, the combination of sections arranged in sets, the sections of each set being hinged together and one section of one set being hinged to a section of the other set, said sections having pigeonholes adapted to fold together, and the sets to fold against each other, and a locking device for holding said portfolio in folded arrangement.

sets and adapted to hold them extended in relation to each other.

5. In an index-portfolio, the combination With a section, of partition-strips dividing said section into a series of pigeonholes, illdividual iiap-doors for said pigeonholes, said doors being provided with openings, and elastic cords passing through the openings in the doors and having portions fixed, said cords being adapted to keep the doors normally closed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY J. WEEKS.

WVitnesses:

C: W. RAsEY, J. R. JANSSENS. 

